Sunday, March 14, 2010

Busy, Busy...So Here is a Recap....

Well, it has been a few crazy days so here is a recap of what has been happening....

First, the village is great! Because these Games are smaller than the summer edition, everything is nice and close. Within just a short walk, we have access to the transportation hub, the medical polyclinic, laundry services, entertainment area, international zone and the cafeteria. It's really nice having everything so close!Opening ceremonies were fantastic! I have been to four previous summer Paralympic Games, but walking into the opening ceremonies in your hometown, let alone home country, was unbelievable! The air was electric with all of the energy in the place! I really can't put into words how awesome it was, but I had a huge smile on my face the whole time and was jumping up and down I was so excited! It was an experience I will not forgot the rest of my life and it made all of the hard work and sacrifice over the past few years worth it. Go, Canada, go!

We had the option of walking into opening ceremonies and then heading home because it's a two hour bus ride from Vancouver back to the village in Whistler, but Andrea and I both decided we wanted to stay for the show, even though we were set to race the biathlon pursuit the next morning. We didn't want to miss out on any of the magic of opening ceremonies and our plan has always been to use the biathlon pursuit race as a chance to get the competition jitters out of the way before the races we have been targeting for the past year, that is, the 5km classic on March 18th and the 1.2km sprint on March 21st. I dozed a little bit on the way home and made sure I was pretty much packed for the next morning so I could sleep in as much as possible. Things actually went better than planned and I was in bed just after midnight.To be honest, I was worried the couple of days before the biathlon pursuit race that I was going to be flat for it, but when I started to warm up the thrill of competing at home certainly gave me a boost and I felt really good and ready to go. The biathlon pursuit race is 3 x 1km with one round of shooting between each lap. Our plan was to do two controlled laps so I could get in good shooting and then go as best we could on the last lap. In my first round of shooting, I only missed one shot, which was awesome! Margarita started 30 seconds ahead of us on the start, but I made up some time in the range and on the ski in the first lap so when we came out of the range, she was only about 100m ahead of us. Andrea encouraged me to go after her as a target. but I tripped myself up and fell...oops! I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could, but by then Margarita was up the first hill and out of sight. It's good that we're close in time because we can use each other to make both of us faster...the chaser and and chasee! Margarita is a great hill climber so I was forced to try and make up ground on the downhill and flats into the range on the second lap and I had no idea where she was when I came into the range other than she was in front of me.

For the second round of shooting, I got directed into lane 12, which at first made me say "Oh no!" because all of the guns sound pretty much the same, except lane 12 which was a little flat. It may have, in retrospect, have been a good thing though because it forced me to be extra careful and I only missed one shot in that round as well. But as we headed out on the third lap, Andrea told me that Margarita was still in the range shooting so we had to move it up the hill if we wanted to stay ahead of her. As I said, Margarita is a fantastic hill climber so I was essentially running scared all the way up! I could hear Robert, Margarita's guide, calling out directions to her the whole way up so that gave me an extra boost of adrenaline! I just kept saying to myself, "Get to the top first, you have to get to the top first!" And we did! We pushed over the top and into the downhill back into the stadium, which was important because if they had caught us, there would have been four of us trying to negotiate a fast and tight turn back into the stadium. As I approached the corner, I kept telling myself, "Stay standing, stay standing!" If I had wiped out, Margarita certainly would have blown by me and I would have lost valuable time. As it turned out, I hammered it along the back of the range and into the finish. As I crossed the line, I couldn't help but raise my arms in celebration! For our first ever Paralympic Games race, Andrea and I had handled the pressure and laid down on of our best races ever. We finished 9th overall and mussed advancing to the final by just 25 seconds - a huge improvement over our results in the same event at the World Cup series in Europe where I finished 12th overall and was more than two minutes out of qualifying. So the pressure is off - we've proven we can compete against the best in the world and hold our own!

So we'll get in some training over the next few days in preparation for the 5km classic on Thursday and I'll try and get in some rest.....there is a nasty cold circulating through our group and so far I have been immune, but I'm trying to get in lots of rest and stay away from those who are sick.

Anyway, I'll try and post next time I get some free time, but I can't promise when that will be....

1 comment:

Hey!Great article about you and your "thighs of steel" in the Vancouver Courier!! See...I always said you had awesome arms and legs! Do you want me to save the article for you,or do you have a copy already? Go, girl! We're cheering for you!Manninagh

About Me

BC Blind Sports

Without BC Blind Sports, I would not be the athlete I am today. No matter what sport I've taken on, they have been there to help me along the way. Being visually impaired, it's sometimes harder than for sighted people to access some sports. Just think how often you hop in your car and drive somewhere, such as hiking and ski trails. Or how you would safely cycle if you can't see road signs or street lights. BC Blind Sports makes all of this possible, plus more. A huge thank you to Jane, Mike, David and Susan for al of your support over the years

Canadian Athletes Now Fund

Being a high performance athlete in Canada isn't always financially easy to pull off. Just look at what this World Cup trip is costing Andrea and I - estimated cost right now is about $5,000 and that is just one trip. We still have to cover expenses for traveling to local training sites, trail passes, medical expenses like massage, physio, equipment such as waxes, clothing, etc., etc.... The CAN Fund has supported Andrea and I the last few years and were it not for them, I likely wouldn't have been able to come to these World Cup races because the cost would have been too much. So a huge thank you to Jane Roos and all the staff at the CAN Fund for making dreams come through for Canada's elite athletes!

If you want to support Canada's amateur athletes through an organization that really does help us, please visit www.canadianathletesnow.ca and make a donation. The final push on for supporting Canada's athletes training for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games is on right now!

My Favourite Ski Gear

I love everything Madshus - the skis, the poles and the boots. So a huge thank you to Reece Rendall from Madshus Canada who offered Andrea and I a sponsorship deal for this year. We now have all the gear we need for the 2010 Games, no matter what the conditions will be. Plus, Madshus donates a portion of sales to support of breast cancer research so that explains why our boots are pink. Yes, pink. I officially have girlie boots and I love them, thank you very much! If you want to check out Madshus for yourself, the website is www.madshus.com

My Favourite Gym

I've been weight training for sport for 18 years now and have seen my fair share of gyms, but the Gold's Gym in Burnaby is my favourite. There are lots of machines and free weights to keep things interesting, plus this is one of the few gyms that has a lifting platform with real bounce plates (they are make of rubber instead of iron) so when we do our Olympic lifts like power cleans and such, we aren't worried about what will happen to the floor if we drop them. As an added bonus, all of the cardio machines have TVs built right into them so I can catch up on the news or watch something entertaining while I get in some cardio, which is really good for the days I need to get in an hour or more on a stationary bike going nowhere fast. Thanks Patrick for giving me access to such an awesome facility!